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Freezing Meals and Instructions

post #1 of 11
6/25/09 at 10:57am
Thread Starter 
Hi All - I have not been on-line for a while - I have a question for those of you who do personal cheffing and freeze the meals.

I am preparing 7 meals for 2 people (14 actual meals) to take on a cruise. They need to be frozen and have instructions for reheating by MICROWAVE.
Questions:
Do any of you freeze cooked salmon? If so, could you help with instructions for
microwave reheating? What about Pasta? - I m thinking about chicken cacciatore over pasta, but worried about how to reheat & what the frezzing will do.
These meals are mostly meat & potatoes or rice. They will be plated and the whole plate will be zapped in the seran.
Anything else I am not asking?

I usually do catering and little freezing - thanks for your help!
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post #2 of 11
6/25/09 at 2:18pm
You could be tempting fate. . How long will these home , NOT QUICK FROZENmeals be held and where will they be held and at what temp?? Still kept frozen I hope.
If kept frozen till use ok. I would freeze all components seperatly then plate and heat seal. Salmon is fine, so is completely cooked chicken . Dont freeze chicken on top of pasta freeze seperatly, and put on side as they both take different times to reheat.. With the food so good on cruise ships and they even will accomodate special diets I cant figure why your doing this??? Also how big a piece of salmon??:lol::lol:
CHEFED
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post #3 of 11
6/25/09 at 2:31pm
Thread Starter 

freezing meals

Thank you for the reply - I am a kosher caterer and will be transporting the meals myself, from my kitchen in a cooler to the ships kitchen (a 5 - 10 minute drive depending on traffic). They will be placed directly into the ships freezer. The customer keeps strictly kosher and the ship has no other way to accommodate them. They must remain in the wrap I put them in, sealed, until the customer opens them at his table, in order to insure the kashrut.

It has been a while since I have been on so I am not surprised you didn't recognize me.
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post #4 of 11
6/25/09 at 2:44pm
frozen fish isn't optimal, but sauce it heavily and it'll be ok.....maybe a tomato base sauce.

Pasta, stuffed shells work better than noodles in reheating.

Braises, sauces that don't break, soups, all are good options. Cooking for a Kosher client tomorrow in his home.....he's having salmon too but eating it fresh.
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #5 of 11
6/25/09 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 

freezing food

Thanks Shroom - its been a while, hope you are well...
He doesn't want much in sauces - thinking I will skip the fish. Can't stuff the pasta with cheese because all the meals must be meat. I would be happy for any other ideas... I have done a menu that is almost all straight meat & potatoes/rice - except the chicken cacc with pasta - I could easily be convinced to change that for the right idea :)
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post #6 of 11
6/25/09 at 7:29pm
Whatever you "freeze" make SURE it is chilled well BEFORE freezing! Unless you are using a commercial "blast freezer", think about using dry ice for freezing, once frozen, the home freezer can hold it easily.

As far as using the microwave for re-thermalization, I recommend NO higher than 50%! Even better is 30%, just increase the time to get to the desired temperature. "Gentle" works FAR better that "brute force"!

If they are going on a trip, consider "dry ice" rather than "blue ice" or regular ice". Just DO NOT LATCH THE COLD CHEST, unless you enjoy explosions! In fact, styrofoam coolers are "safer" in this case.
Chef,
Specialties: MasterCook/RecipeFox; Culinary logistics; Personal Chef; Small restaurant owner; Caterer
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post #7 of 11
6/26/09 at 4:08am
Pete, PGR is personal cheffing for a Kosher couple that are going on a cruise. The cruise line will be in charge of reheating their food in a micro during the week.

Rice is generally better than pasta in reheat. Pasta just gets mushy....really mushy.....mostaccoli or penne are better choices than noodles.
All meat huh. Bummer. my client is a rare bird.....single, mid 60's health nut who hired me to teach him how to cook his CSA vegetables weekly for 3 years. That was in 1998-2001. I took a hiatus and started cooking with him again a couple of months ago....
whole grains, dry beans, lots and lots of vegetables, organic, local whenever possible and usually no meat....once in a blue moon fish, that unfortunately he likes well done....and dairy in moderation....he's ok with non kosher hard cheese ie parmesan reggiano or aged gouda. Interesting guy.

So, are you providing all their meals? Or just lunch/dinner?
First time I've heard of personal cheffing kosher on cruises.....though, I've heard of personal cheffing kosher to college kids.
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #8 of 11
6/26/09 at 4:41am
Thank you for the reply - I am a kosher caterer and will be transporting the meals myself, from my kitchen in a cooler to the ships kitchen (a 5 - 10 minute drive depending on traffic). They will be placed directly into the ships freezer. The customer keeps strictly kosher and the

I would send 14 Shreiber(Glatt) dinners. Or any other OU brand .I have used them many times as did the airlines, they are blast frozen and the quality is fairly good.:D
CHEFED
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post #9 of 11
6/26/09 at 4:47am
but her business is catering/personal cheffing.
cooking with all your senses.....
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post #10 of 11
6/26/09 at 6:17am
I have frozen cooked salmon before and it is ok, better with a sauce though.
I would slice the chicken and put it in the sauce. Its the defrosting that drains the proteins of their moisture, the more sauces you can use the better the results should be. I agree with Pete if you have any control over the reheating then slowly is better than nuking it. Surely the ship's chefs will know this.
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post #11 of 11
7/2/09 at 9:31am
Thread Starter 

freezing food

Shroom, thank you for responding for me, I was away. And thanks to all of you for the help - I will avoid the fish and figure something other than pasta for the caciatorri
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